The Biggest Takeaways from the 8th Annual XYPN LIVE

Hint: Think Community

It’s been two weeks since the 8th annual XYPN LIVE in mile-high Denver, CO. Nearly 850 fee-for-service advisors, XYPN members, keynote speakers, exhibitors, and team members from all over the country came together to re:imagine, re:define, and re:invent the conference experience.

After two years of pandemic living, our goal was to help attendees re:connect and take financial advising to the next level. From wall to wall, the conference center was packed with the connections, conversations, content, and solutions that fee-for-service advisors have been looking for.  

For those of you who joined us, thank you for your incredible energy, engagement, and passion. The buzz you brought to the conference is what brings the movement to life. For those who couldn’t make it this year, here’s a recap of the most impactful parts of XYPN LIVE for attendees. We wanted to share some of the insight attendees gained, and invite you to make the connections that matter in Atlanta for XYPN LIVE 2023 and bring your vision to life.

"This is my second time attending XYPN LIVE. I found the speakers, session leaders, attendees and XYPN staff to be some of the most authentic and inclusive people I've come across in the industry. LIVE is definitely not your average broker-dealer conference!"
Michelle Francis

Life Story Financial

Sunday, October 9 marked the official start of XYPN LIVE. The morning started with a few—inspiring—words from Alan Moore and Michael Kitces. In their Opening Remarks, the co-founders celebrated growth and shared exciting news about the future of the network, including the XYPN 2022 Benchmarking Survey results, XYVA going live, XYPN member growth, and new compliance solutions that have been built with your firm in mind.

In case you missed them, here are the biggest takeaways from the Opening Remarks:

• XYPN is 33 times bigger than it was in 2014.
• XYPN members signed 20,000+ new clients in the last year
• XY Virtual Assistant is live and has provided 800+ hours of support.
• XYPN represents 7% of all state RIAs in the United States.
• XYPN represents 11% of firms doing financial planning.
• 63% of XYPN members have outsourced bookkeeping and administrative functions.
• XYPN members comprise 25% of the Investopedia Top 100.
• 2 XYPN member firms, and XYPN, were included in the latest Inc. 5000 list.

"I freakin loved every second. What an amazing event! As much as I enjoyed the sessions, I gained even more value from side conversations with fellow advisors, learning what they do differently than me, and getting specific ideas for implementing ways to improve my practice."

Chad Holmes, CFP®, CPA

Formula Wealth

Re:connecting with the network

The people are the heart of XYPN LIVE. This year's welcome reception set the tone for all of the expert advice, networking, and connections set to come. Attendees got the opportunity to mix and mingle with folks in similar (and different) phases of entrepreneurship, the XYPN team, and introduce themselves to their financial planning celebrities.

Whether you were a first-timer to XYPN LIVE, or you’ve been around the block, this year’s conference was designed to help attendees to maximize the opportunities to connect with fellow advisors. That included 15 dedicated networking sessions to help you share your wins, losses, and passion for financial planning with your peers.

Moving the industry forward with tough conversations: 

This year we aimed to create the space to talk about topics that move the industry forward. One such conversation centered around the opportunities and challenges of race in the roundtable hosted by Christopher Dale, CFP®, CeFT®. Another was the roundtable centered around creating career opportunities for new planners hosted by Daniel M. Yerger, MBA, CFP®, ChFC®, AIF®, CDFA®. Roundtables were “by far the best part,” shared attendee Alex Smith. “As a career changer and someone who is thinking about starting my own firm, it was so valuable to hear other people talk about the journey and the problems they're facing.” It’s insights like this that keep the movement pushing forward. 

Sharing the unique challenges of entrepreneurship:

Michael Kitces shared in the Opening Remarks that XYPN is a network for a reason. That reason is because XYPN is a network of a community of people with different backgrounds, ideas, and goals, but with the same mission—to make financial planning more accessible.

We know that each and every path to independence is unique—and we celebrate that at XYPN. We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again. XYPN LIVE is where the network comes together. Why? Because the easiest way to find your freedom is to learn from your peers. 

To name a few of the challenges addressed: launching a firm as a career changer, presented by David Frank, MBA, improving while sustaining, with Rob Oliver, CFA®, CFP®, and growing your team to fit your business, with Rebecca Conner, CFP®, CPA.

Bringing together micro-communities:

Sometimes your mission is best served as a team. While the XYPN LIVE schedule was packed with insightful content, new tech, and opportunities to celebrate the network as a whole, some of the most memorable moments were made as attendees found their people. XYPN member Arielle Tucker shared that “being in the same space with so many planners that I look up to and feeling like they were totally approachable and rooting for me” was one of the most valuable takeaways from XYPN LIVE. 

We’re proud to share that 98% of attendees left taking value from the community and networking sessions. For all of you nerds, that wasn’t the only exciting statistic. 

Of the 623 advisor attendees, 83% were able to come together in person in Denver, CO. This means that there were 523 advisors, many of whom are in the same stage of business, were ready to re:connect with their community in the hallways, coffee bars, and sessions at the conference. But networking didn’t just happen on the sidelines. We made extra care to ensure that the heart of the conference—the community—was front and center.  

Connecting in person was the highlight of many of your experiences at XYPN LIVE:

"It's so valuable connecting with fellow advisors face to face where I can ask specific business questions. As our relationships continue from year to year we learn valuable insights from each other. The insight can even save each other from repeating mistakes!"

Michelle Smalenberger, CFP®

Financial Design Studio, Inc.

"The power of community coming together - the value of in-person conversations and networking cannot be overstated! Being able to have our mastermind groups together at long last was particularly special."

Daniel Kopp, CFP®, MA

Wise Stewardship Financial Planning, LLC

"I loved the interactions with everyone. There is a collaborative/helpful/friendly vibe and it seems that everyone wants everyone else to succeed."

Jamie Bosse, CFP®, RFC, CCFC

Aspyre Wealth Partners

Re:imagining the conference experience 

You may be wondering why XYPN LIVE is so focused on community. It’s because we get it, entrepreneurship can be lonely. But with XYPN, you’re never alone. XYPN LIVE serves as a reminder of that.

The conference team intentionally filled the schedule with inspiring content sessions that aimed to help attendees re:imagine and re:define what it means to be an entrepreneur—and walk away with actionable advice. 

The team also recognizes that your time is incredibly important. That’s why we curated the schedule of events to provide value to attendees in all firm phases. These content tracks included: Automate and Optimize, Deliver Value, Scaling Advice, Sh!t You Should Know, Client Acquisition, and Continuing Education (CE) opportunities. Here’s a look at the sessions by the numbers:

You like getting the best of both worlds, right? CE Self-study is available on our event platform until December 15, 2022. In addition to the CFP CE credits available through the live webinars and Kitces.com access that are included in Membership, sessions with this tag give you a chance to sneak in some extra CFP continuing education after the conference. 

Incorporating peer-to-peer learning:

In the spirit of learning from others, we intentionally encouraged XYPN members to share their journey to entrepreneurship. Some of their stories were centered around growth, including the path traveled by Brooklyn FI, one of the firms that made the Inc. 5000 list this year. 

XYPN also recognizes that not every advisor is looking to grow their firm—and that’s okay! Panels set the stage for attendees to connect with like-minded advisors. As Meg Bartelt, CFP®, MSFP put it, these sessions allowed her to get “reenergized by all of [her] fellow planners with a mission.” 

Re:defining your tech stack 

Exhibit Day provides XYPN LIVE attendees with an entire day dedicated to connecting with representatives that have been hand-selected to show off their solutions. It's historically been one of the most action-packed days of the whole conference—it’s a one-of-a-kind full day dedicated to learning from the latest. 

This year was no exception! The exhibit hall was full all day this year—a key indicator that attendees found the solutions valuable for their own practice. Daniel Tobias, CFP® exemplified the value of networking as he headed into Exhibit Day. The highlight of his conference experience was garnering “a few tips…from some other advisors that I was immediately able to 'cash in' on by visiting specific exhibitors.” 

Finding dedicated time to connect with representatives from top companies in our industry was quite a challenge this year with 69 exhibitors. Some attendees split up their lists amongst their teams to do the rounds. Other advisors headed into the Exhibit hall carrying a list of solutions they wanted to check off. Across the board, XYPN LIVE attendees put in the work to make the most of their time spent working ON their business.

Attendees also had the opportunity to take a break from the Exhibit hall and pop into the AdvisorTech expo. This year's XYPN LIVE AdvisorTech Expo was all about advice engagement and showcasing some of the most innovative new technology that empowers clients to—meaningfully—engage with their advisor’s advice. You may have seen this sentiment reflected on the back of this year’s XYPN T-shirt: If at first you don’t succeed, try doing what your financial planner told you to do the first time. 

This year, the Life Hub by Income Lab knocked the socks off the attendees in Denver, CO. 

"Far and away the best conference out there for fee-only advisors. Not even close. Looking forward to 2023 in Atlanta."

John McNamara, CRPC®

Highball Advisors 

That’s a wrap on the 8th annual conference! 

XYPN LIVE 2023 is heading to Atlanta, GA for three power-packed days. It’s the place where fee-for-service advisors can learn from the successes, failures, and struggles that come with independence. Why come to XYPN LIVE? Because we believe you should have the freedom to build your success your way. Every detail of XYPN LIVE 2023 is designed to support you doing just that. 

We'll provide the resources— and connections—you need to build your dream firm, all under one roof!

Grab your pass before prices go up on Sunday, January 1, 2023 and get ready to find your people on the path to freedom.

About Colby Goodrich

Colby Goodrich is XYPN's Content Designer. In her role, she works closely with the Marketing Team to help bring the XY Planning Network experience to life. On the Business Solutions team, Colby designs the internal content that improves the member experience. When she isn't busy creating, connecting, and communicating, she loves to go camping in the pacific northwest.